2019 was a major year for us here at Can I Play That and I’m so thankful for all of you that have helped us become what we are.
Having launched in November of 2018, this year was our first full year in existence and our growth has been remarkable. We’ve become the go-to site for accessibility info and reviews for players and game developers alike, thanks to our brilliant writers and amazing community on Twitter.
We started the year off with the devastating loss of Susan, our co-founder and my partner, and I had no plans of continuing CIPT after she passed away. But friends, I’m so glad that I did. The outpouring of support both for me and the site was overwhelming in the most wonderful way and I’m continually in awe of what we’ve done and how we’ve grown as a site, even in Susan’s absence, because the #a11y community is just that incredible.
2019 gave us our very first triple-A game to ever be awarded a perfect score for deaf/hoh accessibility (nicely done, The Coalition and Gears 5!) and that review brought new visitors and new supporters to our site in droves. The score even found itself in the Gears 5 accolades TV spot alongside major sites like IGN and DualShockers!
Another amazing opportunity we had this year was an appearance on NPR’s 1A, alongside Aderyn Thompson, where we discussed game accessibility and why it’s so important.
We’ve been fortunate to feature the work of multiple new contributors and brought on two new editors, Grant Stoner and Specious Coda-Bishop, all of whom bring such talent and uniquely important voices to our mission at CIPT. Thank you all for all you’ve done to help me keep CIPT going.
We’ve seen some major advancements in accessibility in new game releases from studios big and small as well. Ubisoft once again raised the accessibility bar with the releases of Far Cry New Dawn, The Division 2, and Ghost Recon Breakpoint (yes, I had to mention Ubi specifically, you all know me well enough by now to expect that…) but they were far from the only ones doing amazing work to ensure more people than ever before can access the games we all love.
I’m so thankful for all that CIPT and our readers have brought to my life this year and I can’t wait to see what we can bring you all in 2020.
